A video being circulated on social media showed Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar purportedly equating his Cabinet colleague and Scheduled Castes Welfare Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar to a 'buffalo that knows nothing'.
Published Oct 07, 2025 | 2:38 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 07, 2025 | 2:38 PM
Despite their differences, ministers Ponnam Prabhakar (L) and Adluri Laxman Kumar had shared cordial moments in recent months. But the latest row has threatened to undo that camaraderie.
Synopsis: Even as Scheduled Castes Welfare Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar demanded a public apology, claiming Ponnam Prabhakar had insulted the Madiga community, the latter maintained that his words were twisted and taken out of context.
A political storm is raging in the Telangana Cabinet after Backward Classes (BC) Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar allegedly insulted his Cabinet colleague and Scheduled Castes (SC) Welfare Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar, calling him a “buffalo who knows nothing.”
The alleged remark, made during a media conference on the Jubilee Hills by-election, has ignited outrage within Congress ranks and drawn fierce condemnation from the Opposition BJP and BRS. They accused Ponnam of “casteist arrogance”.
Taking strong exception to the remark, Adluri said in a video statement that he was deeply hurt.
“I do not speak arrogantly like Ponnam. I hope he realises his mistake. My performance over the last three months has been impressive. I got representation in the Cabinet because I am a Madiga,” he said.
“If he had criticised my work, I would have taken it in my stride. But his jibe was directed at my sub-caste, the Madiga community. If he apologises, I will put an end to this issue. But he continues to deny remarking. I will meet Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Meenakshi Natarajan to lodge a strong complaint against him,” Adluri said.
The controversy broke out on 5 October, when a video clip went viral, showing Ponnam allegedly mocking Adluri’s late arrival at an event, using a term that many interpreted as an insult to his SC background.
Ponnam has categorically denied the allegation. In a video statement, he insisted that he had never used any caste-related slur and claimed the viral clip had been “manipulated or taken out of context.” He accused the Opposition of twisting his words to create a rift in the Congress Cabinet.
Party insiders said Adluri was feeling betrayed after earning his Cabinet berth after decades of loyalty and grassroots work.
“He waited years for recognition. To be insulted like this by a fellow minister has shaken him,” said a senior Congress functionary from Karimnagar.
Sensing an opportunity, both the BJP and BRS went on the offensive. The BJP linked the episode to Congress’s earlier criticism of the BJP’s caste census stance, calling it “rank hypocrisy.”
The BRS used the controversy to attack the government on both caste and governance issues — from poor hostel conditions under Adluri’s portfolio to alleged groupism within the Congress.
“Revanth Reddy’s Cabinet is collapsing under its own contradictions,” said BRS MLA T Harish Rao, claiming the episode exposed “Congress’s upper-caste dominance over BC and SC leaders.”
While both ministers have refrained from public confrontation since the incident, tensions remain high. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy reportedly held closed-door meetings with both leaders, but the embers continue to smoulder.
Student groups from Osmania University (OU JAC) and several Dalit organisations have joined the protests, demanding disciplinary action against Ponnam.
Ponnam, who has long projected himself as a mass leader representing BC interests, has been one of the party’s key strategists in Karimnagar. His rivalry with Adluri, insiders said, has been simmering for months.
Despite their differences, the two ministers had shared cordial moments in recent months — playing kabaddi with youth groups in July and distributing musical instruments to visually impaired students in September. But the latest row has threatened to undo that camaraderie.
The controversy couldn’t have come at a worse time for Congress. The episode risked alienating SC voters, a crucial bloc that helped propel the party to power. For Revanth Reddy, who has projected Congress as a “Mohabbat ki Dukaan” (shop of love) symbolising unity and inclusion, the optics following the row could be damaging.
As the video continued to circulate on social media, the controversy threatened to overshadow the government’s welfare agenda. Party leaders privately admitted that a public apology might be the solution to defuse the situation — but whether Ponnam would comply remains to be seen.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
